Mike Beacom - The Complete Idiots Guide to Understanding Football

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Table of Contents

Introduction

For me, football is the tired grass field beside Roosevelt Elementary School in the small Wisconsin town where I grew up. Thats where my classmates and I spent many of our winter weekend afternoons and summer evenings. I cant quite tell you how well I scored in my third-grade math class or the first girl I had a crush on, but the memories of catching touchdown passes and dirtying my best school clothes on that field are still fresh in my mind. Football can have that everlasting effect on a person.

Football is a simple game of gains and losses, yet its so much more. As a spectator, the experience can be every bit as everlastingas real and movingas the experiences of playing the game. Soon youll agree.

While reading this book, youll begin to understand why the sport has captivated its millions of fans all over the world.

How to Use This Book

This book is divided into five parts, each of which dissects a different aspect of football and combines to make you a more astute student of the game.

Part 1, The Basics, discusses footballs history; covers the basic terminology and equipment; and takes a close look at the games coaches, managers, and officials.

Part 2, We Got the Ball, explores the offensive side of the ball. It gives a detailed explanation for each positions objectives and limitations, and it covers the strategy, rules, and statistics important only to the offense.

Part 3, They Got the Ball, tackles the defense, breaking down each position and examining the defensive strategy, rules, and statistics.

Part 4, The Other Third of the Team, covers special teamsthe kicking and punting game and all the coverage units. Same as with offense and defense, Part 4 discusses special teams strategy, rules, and statistics.

Part 5, A Spectacle at Every Level, features the different levels of playprofessional, college, high school, and youth; how each is organized; and what it has to offer to the fan. This part also discusses the many ways fans can interact with the game, including fantasy football.

In the backfield, youll find a glossary of football-related terms and also a resources appendix to help you gain extra yards with your football knowledge.

Extras

Throughout the book youll find a number of elements providing insight or a fun nugget of information. Heres a quick description of the different kinds of information youll find:

FUN FACT

These bits of trivia are fun to share with friends and enhance your football knowledge.

GRIDIRON GAB

These boxes contain clear explanations of terms that may be new to you.

PENALTY

Check these boxes for notes about rules that impact football players or coaches.

QUICK HIT

These boxes offer tips to help you better understand the action during the game.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Here youll find timeless quotes from some of footballs legendary coaches and players.

Acknowledgments

First I must thank my agent, Marilyn Allen of the Allen OShea Literary Agency, who is responsible for connecting me with this project. Writers often speak of how agents arent accessible or compassionate; I guess those writers dont know Marilyn. Shes a splendid lady and a true writers agent.

To all the good people at Alpha Booksyou have my gratitude for helping guide this project, especially Mike Sanders for his patience, Christy Wagner for her careful treatment of each sentence, and Kayla Dugger for helping bring it all together.

A special thanks to my stepfather, Mike Fadden, who has always been there for me and has asked little in return. To my older brother, Chris, who built the foundation on which my love of football continues to grow, and to my younger brother, Paul, who lives the way we all should.

To Bill Berry and William Pete Kelley, both of whom served as mentors, but more importantly, became lifelong friends. Much thanks to Steve Hill, Brian Toelle, Phil Tubbs, and Mark DeYoung, for offering input on this book.

To Bryan Van Stippen, my collaborator, business partner, and the greatest friend a guy could have.

To Jada and Isis, each an equal owner of my heart, and to their mother and my partner, Lisa, for making me whole and keeping me sanelove the three of you more than a single paragraph or an entire manuscript will allow me to express.

And to my two biggest fansmy mom, Kay, and my Aunt BelleI dedicate this book to the both of you.

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Part 1

The Basics

Football is inescapable. Its an American treasure. One of the great spectacles of our time. But boil it down, and what more do you have than an open field, a ball, and a couple dozen men willing to batter and bloody themselves for the thrill of it all?

Part 1 covers the games history, its rules, the playing field and equipment, the coaches, and the referees.

In other words, the basics.

Chapter 1

A Game for the Masses

In This Chapter

Why football is Americas most popular sport

How the game came to be

Important chapters in the history of the game

The men who put football on the map

For many of its fans, football is second only to breathing. Its what they think about, talk about, cry about, and yearn for. It bonds fans with nothing in common but the team they share, and it divides people who would otherwise get along just fine.

Football does not discriminate, and it knows no boundaries. Men and women of all ages and social and cultural backgrounds are passionate about it, and its popularity continues to grow in places far away from its origin.

To begin to understand the gamehow its organized and how its playedone must first begin to understand where it came from.

The Greatest Game on Earth

Had gladiators lived in modern times, theres a good chance they would have chosen football over all other competitions. For the athlete, football challenges the individuals strength, speed, endurance, and intelligence. For the fan, it has everything a viewer thirsts for: drama, scoring, and loud collisions.

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